SeAH Steel Holdings has successfully improved its second-quarter performance despite a challenging business environment marked by low-priced Chinese specialty steel imports. The company attributed its success to strategic sales efforts and an increase in high-value product sales.
On July 30, SeAH Steel Holdings announced its preliminary results for the second quarter, reporting consolidated sales of 1.1363 trillion won and an operating profit of 60.5 billion won. Compared to the same period last year, sales increased by 17.8%, while operating profit rose by 35.9%. Compared to the previous quarter, sales grew by 17.4%, and operating profit surged by 94.5%, indicating a clear recovery.
This performance improvement is attributed to the sales expansion of key subsidiaries, including SeAH Steel and SeAH Changwon Specialty Steel, along with a sales strategy focused on high-value products. Additionally, rising prices of key raw materials and seasonal demand recovery contributed to the improved results.
SeAH Steel, the core subsidiary, faced ongoing market challenges due to increased domestic imports of low-priced Chinese specialty steel bars. However, it successfully defended its performance by strengthening sales in growth sectors such as oil and gas, defense, and renewable energy. In the second quarter, sales increased by 10.6% year-on-year, and operating profit rose by 11.5%. Compared to the previous quarter, sales jumped by 13.4%, and operating profit soared by 129.5%, highlighting a significant recovery.
SeAH Changwon Specialty Steel also continued its growth despite sluggish demand in traditional sectors like industrial machinery and plants. The company benefited from increased semiconductor equipment demand driven by investments in artificial intelligence (AI) data centers and rising stainless steel demand in the energy and power sectors. Sales surged by 15.9% year-on-year, and operating profit skyrocketed by 81.7%. Compared to the previous quarter, sales increased by 18.7%, and operating profit rose by 148.0%, significantly improving profitability.
However, SeAH Aerospace Defense Materials saw a 4.2% increase in sales compared to the previous quarter due to strong demand in the aerospace and defense sectors, but operating profit fell by 7.9% due to rising aluminum prices impacting costs.
Looking ahead, SeAH Steel Holdings plans to expand sales of high-value products in growth sectors such as eco-friendly vehicles, semiconductors, defense, and energy in the second half of the year. The recent initiation of an anti-dumping investigation by the Trade Commission into Chinese specialty steel bars is also expected to positively impact the reduction of low-priced imports and the normalization of the domestic market.
A company official stated, "We will strengthen our sales strategy focused on high-value products by leveraging our quality and delivery competitiveness, and we plan to actively expand our specialty metal materials business for aerospace and defense in response to global supply chain diversification. We aim to enhance our global competitiveness in specialty steel based on synergies among domestic and international subsidiaries."
* This article has been translated by AI.
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